I am not a new weaver but have a question regarding how to determine the number of heddles to put on a loom moreless for a lifetime.  I have an 8-harness loom, and it is very tedious to add heddles.  Does anyone have a formula for figuring out the magical number of heddles to put on each harness so that there are always plenty of heddles available no matter the weave structure or sett?  

Comments

Sun, 08/28/2011 - 20:47

Claudia Segal (not verified)

That's a good question.  I have put about 100 heddles on my 8 shaft looms and still end up removing some and needing more sometimes.  I don't believe there is a perfect answer because if you are using a loom with metal heddles, if you put too many the shafts are heavy to lift when you treadle.  In fact, that's how I ended up buying a countermarch loom and I am thrilled I did.  I now use texsolv which are much easier to put on and remove.

So, you could probably start with at least 50/shaft and see if that works for most of the weave structures you like.  I am fond of complex shadow weaves and often need about 75/shaft for 4-6 shafts and less on the other two.  Take a look at the most complex weave structures you like to weave and figure out the number of heddles you need.

Claudia

Mon, 08/29/2011 - 11:49

Dawn McCarthy

As a general rule of thumb I would say 100 per shaft, or at minimum 100 on the first 4 and 50 on the last.  Many weave structures require more heddles on the first 2 shafts and less toward the back.  How wide is the loom?  On my 60 inch looms I put 200 on the first 4 and 100 on the remainder.  Consider the type of weave structures you mostly use and the size of the yarn.  Better to have a few too many than struggle with moving heddles around.

Hope this helps

Dawn

Wed, 08/31/2011 - 06:21

apk5 (not verified)

It depends on the width of fabric you tend to weave and the sett I'd say. I tend to weave 48" at between 20 and 40 epi depending on the yarn, so I tend to have about 500 heddles on each shaft of my 4-shaft loom. Mind you, I have metal heddles so it's not a big deal taking them off and putting them back on again.

Wed, 09/07/2011 - 03:51

fiberwoman

Many thanks for the comments which I am taking into consideration as I plan.